The Judgement Of False Teachers

INTRO

Peter wrote to a group of dispersed believers. He encouraged them to hold on to the living hope of Christ as they went through suffering. As the believers were dispersed, false teachers emerged.

Jesus could be referred to as the Master of Truth. The false teachers were secretly bringing in destructive heresies and even denying the Master of Truth. Peter told the believers that in their communities, they should expect false teachers to try to come in and claim the truth. These false teachers were trying to bring about destruction.

TEACHING

2 Peter 2:1-2: Peter shares characteristics of the false teachers so the believers would know what to look out for. The truth as identified in John 14:6 was Christ. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” Jesus was their standard.

Wiersbe explains, “In order to warn us to be alert, Peter presented three aspects of this subject of false teachers in the church.”¹ The three aspects that described the false teachers were deception, denial, and sensuality.² False teachers took advantage of believers and would add secretive teachings. These teachings were destructive. False teachers would try to draw people into their ideas. But Peter reiterated that there is no other truth but Christ.

The doctrinal error of false teachers was the denial of Christ. Their denial included Christ’s death on the cross. They also denied who Christ was. Peter’s warning was to be careful. The false teachers had secretive approaches to reach people, and they had obvious doctrinal errors. The only way to discern false teaching was to use the lens that asked the question, Am I denying Christ?

The false teachers would propose an abrupt departure from the truth to the Christian community. They falsely liked to add to the truth.

2 Peter 2:3: In verse 3, the false teachers were taking advantage of their followers and profiting from them. The basis of their teaching was greed. Peter points out that people were giving in to the false teachers because they did not judge the teaching through the lens of truth—Christ. The destruction of the false teachers was coming because of their greed. God would eventually take care of the false teachers. The sense of discernment of the believers would grow as the believers grew in the Lord. They needed to study the truth, and their discernment of false teaching would increase.

2 Peter 2:4–8: In verses 4-10 Peter gave three examples of judgment. Constable offered these three illustrations of the judgment against sin:

“His first example is of the angels who sinned (v. 4), and it is an example of how the devil works. His second example is that of the world of Noah’s day (v. 5), and it is the example of the world. The third example (v. 6) is the turning of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, and that is the example of the flesh.”³

God brought judgment and destruction in the past, and Peter used these references to warn his readers about what could come in the future. Constable explains that, in the third example:

“Lot is described as a righteous man. The Genesis account seems to portray Lot as a man influenced by the values of the world. Here we are told of Lot’s reaction to evil: he was depressed by the filthy conduct of the wicked and upset at their lawless actions.”⁴

2 Peter 2:9–11: In verse 9, Peter states God knows how to rescue the godly. He points out that the conduct of the false teachers did not bother them even when they spoke against the message of Christ. Nelson’s Commentary states:

“Two particular groups are singled out for judgement: those who live in unclean lust and those who hold authority in contempt. Presumptuous, self-willed: These words describe the character and methods of false teachers. Their actions are characterized by boldness; they recklessly defy both God and man.”⁵

The false teachers seemed to think their way was correct.

2 Peter 2:12–22: In verse 12 Peter compares the false teachers to irrational animals. They would speak blasphemies and eventually they would be destroyed. Scripture states they did not understand truth. In verse 13 Peter states the false teachers would suffer harm as payment for their actions. They took delight in communicating secretive approaches and speaking against Jesus. They displayed their unrighteous practices in public places.

Nelson’s Commentary explains Peter’s words in verse 14:

“The eyes of the false teachers were full of adultery. They looked lustfully at women. They could not cease from sin because their fantasizing had become habitual. As a consequence, they convinced the unstable souls in the church that adultery was acceptable Christian behavior and lured them into sexual immorality.”⁶

The bottom line was the false teachers were after women and money. They had abandoned truth and the straight path of Jesus, the Master of Truth. The false teachers had followed the path of Balaam.

CLOSING

False teachers are empty. They are like springs without water. Judgment will come specifically to them. To avoid facing this same judgment, we are required to be in the Word to gain wisdom and discernment to identify unholy teachings.